QUESTION

Question:

Population:

From a large birth cohort for whom school records were available through a contractual agreement with the city, 370 adolescents
fulfilling criteria for ADHD (mean age 10.4 years; 75% male), and 740 age and gender matched controls (two for each case)
without ADHD or any other psychiatric disorder were selected. Medical records for these participants were available through
the Rochester Epidemiology Project. DSM-IV exclusion criteria: severe mental retardation, developmental disorder, schizophrenia
or other psychiatric disorder.

Setting:

Rochester, Minnesota, USA. Participants enrolled in the January 1976 to December 1982 birth cohort.

Prognostic factors:

ADHD.

Outcomes:

Reading achievement (percentile rank on the California Achievement Score, measured every 2 years to mean age 13 years), absenteeism
(percentage days absent per school …